Combining Insanity with weightlifting?

[DRiFT2oNR]

Has anyone ever done something of this nature?

Since it's winter, I've barely done any cardio. I have an elliptical but I had to send it back to the store for a repair(takes 8-10weeks), so I don't have that. I do have a jump rope, but honestly, I tend to give up on cardio in cold weather(other then if it's practice for sports)



I was given Insanity by my brother. I am not going to do all of Insanity, but I've looked through all the dvd's, and some look like straight up cardio.


Would it be ok to perform Insanity 2-3x a week on top of my lifting(I don't like to do high intensity cardio for too long due to catabolism, so I might just do 30min of the dvd instead of the whole one)?

[dlossing]

The thing with insanity and p90x and other workout videos of that nature is that they create something called muscle confusion, with that said i would suggest you follow the workout programs to the tee, doing the 2 months with insanity or the 3 months with p90x will get you good if not even better results than working out with weights alone, i have seen many transformations from that program at the gym that i workout in, and its unbeleivable. Even if that stuff is pure cardio i would stick to the whole plan. Does the workout not look interesting or does it look to hard. If it looks to hard you need to try it, give it your all, and i promise you will see results. Also just eat right.

[-TC-]

The thing with insanity and p90x and other workout videos of that nature is that they create something called muscle confusion, with that said i would suggest you follow the workout programs to the tee, doing the 2 months with insanity or the 3 months with p90x will get you good if not even better results than working out with weights alone, i have seen many transformations from that program at the gym that i workout in, and its unbeleivable. Even if that stuff is pure cardio i would stick to the whole plan. Does the workout not look interesting or does it look to hard. If it looks to hard you need to try it, give it your all, and i promise you will see results. Also just eat right.

sorry...but there is no muscle confusion

[DRiFT2oNR]

The thing with insanity and p90x and other workout videos of that nature is that they create something called muscle confusion, with that said i would suggest you follow the workout programs to the tee, doing the 2 months with insanity or the 3 months with p90x will get you good if not even better results than working out with weights alone, i have seen many transformations from that program at the gym that i workout in, and its unbeleivable. Even if that stuff is pure cardio i would stick to the whole plan. Does the workout not look interesting or does it look to hard. If it looks to hard you need to try it, give it your all, and i promise you will see results. Also just eat right.

HAR. HAR. (srs)

I am not trying to get extremely lean at this point in my life. Goals are mainly strength and power(yes, I know you can be both lean and strong, but I am planning to play football in college, specifically, DE, and am putting all my goals towards those).

Just need the cardio aspect.

I do eat very healthy(with a cheat meal or two thrown in every week).

[beazy22]

i'm thinking about doing this... i did my first insanity workout this morning and it was awesome. problem is, is that i'm currently training for a 1/2 marathon. so now my work-outs are all mixed up...

i'm thinking about getting up earlier (already getting up at 5:30 for work everyday) 3 times a week and doing insanity in the morning, then doing my 2-3x lifting routines after work during the week, along with my 2-3x running workouts during the week.

honestly, i'm not sure what i'm going to do. i really enjoyed the insanity this morning and it kicked my butt, but with the running thing as my main focus, and then mountain biking season starting immediately after that, lifting starts sounding like a bad idea. argh. i have too many things i want to train for and not enough time/days in the week lol..

i want to lift
i want to run
i want to do tons of cardio/insanity
and i don't know what to focus on

[Cichlid]

I got this hybrid plan from Beachbody, the company that sells Insanity and P90X:
____________________
Rather than try to cover every variable, I'll use some examples of P90X/INSANITY hybrids and point out some of my logic.

Example 1

Block 1

* Day 1: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
* Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit (INSANITY workout)
* Day 3: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
* Day 4: Yoga X
* Day 5: Legs & Back
* Day 6: Pure Cardio & Abs (INSANITY workout)
* Day 7: X Stretch

Recovery Week

* Day 1: Core Cardio & Balance (INSANITY workout)
* Day 2: Core Synergistics
* Day 3: Cardio Recovery (INSANITY workout)
* Day 4: Yoga X
* Day 5: Pure Cardio & Abs
* Day 6: Cardio Recovery
* Day 7: X Stretch

INSANITY This is P90X classic with INSANITY as a substitute for the cardio workouts. The recovery week is very cardio-oriented. Subsequent blocks would follow the P90X classic schedule and increase the difficultly of the INSANITY workouts. A program structured like this would offer similar benefits to those of P90X classic. The more difficult cardio workouts would make this program optimal for anyone who feels as though they've mastered P90X.

Now let's take a look at how we'd design a lean schedule using these two programs.

Example 2

Block 1

* Day 1: Core Synergistics
* Day 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit
* Day 3: Cardio Power & Resistance (INSANITY workout)
* Day 4: Yoga X
* Day 5: Core Synergistics
* Day 6: Pure Cardio & Abs
* Day 7: X Stretch

Recovery Week

* Day 1: Legs & Back
* Day 2: Core Cardio & Balance
* Day 3: Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X
* Day 4: Core Cardio & Balance
* Day 5: Chest & Back, Ab Ripper X
* Day 6: Cardio Recovery
* Day 7: X Stretch

I set this up assuming people wanted to keep some of the gains they'd made during P90X classic but wanted to improve their cardio fitness. Over the course of this program, I would increase the INSANITY intensity and end up dropping the second Core Synergistics workout of the week in favor of another hard INSANITY workout. During the scope of INSANITY-style cardio, purely resistance-based workouts would act as recovery for the systems being worn down, even though a lot of muscular breakdown would still occur. If I had little interest in maintaining muscle mass gained during P90X, I would change the recovery week to something more traditional by doing more steady-state cardio (no max intervals), stretching, yoga, and lighter resistance training. Like this:

Recovery Week

* Day 1: Cardio Recovery
* Day 2: Core Cardio & Balance
* Day 3: Yoga X
* Day 4: Core Cardio & Balance
* Day 5: Core Synergistics
* Day 6: Cardio Recovery
* Day 7: X Stretch
___________________________________

I'm gonna try this after doing Insanity by itself.

[nshssoccer]

I tried doing Insanity after my weight lifting workout but I was always too tired so i just do one or the other

[dieseltheabn]

I tried doing Insanity after my weight lifting workout but I was always too tired so i just do one or the other

I tried this, and one thing that helped me was to do insanity in the morning as a sort of "wake up" workout, and then to lift in the afternoon/evening when I got home from school/work. It did cause quite a beatdown on my body though, so I only kept it up for a few weeks, and if you do this you have to be very careful about eating enough but not too much. I would advise doing the mixed p90x insanity workout that cichlid posted, or something similar

[AlecRockker]

Got great results from doing this. Did my 4 day split at the gym then days off did insanity for my cardio.. great way to mix up your cardio instead of running or biking all the time

[marketwiz]

I just started Insanity (again) and am going to use this as one of my cardio outlets. (combining with HIIT, hills, and sprints.) I did half of the program and saw great results. Unfortunately work called and I had to go abroad and didn't think to bring it with to take the second half of the challenge.

[nonenos13]

I think you just have to understand what the insanity workouts cover. There are many different ones. If you are looking to use them as a cardio source only, I would stick with the "pure cardio" video. Any of these videos are going to be extremely hard and give you a killer cardio workout but doing something like the plyometrics video would be overkill if you are lifting on the side. Insanity isn't going to build any muscle mass or anything like that. The only physical work is pushups, and they are not frequent enough to matter. You are going to be in amazing aerobic shape and lose weight/fat. I did it for 60 days and recommend to anyone who wants to great cardio workout.

[underpsi]

I use them for my cardio on my non lift days. I just cycle through the 2nd month's DVD. To lift heavy and then do an insanity dvd on the same day would be in my opinion, a little much.

[iJoe]

I use them for my cardio on my non lift days. I just cycle through the 2nd month's DVD. To lift heavy and then do an insanity dvd on the same day would be in my opinion, a little much.

^Exactly what I was thinking of doing. Glad to come across this thread.

[FurorFitness]

I use them for my cardio on my non lift days. I just cycle through the 2nd month's DVD. To lift heavy and then do an insanity dvd on the same day would be in my opinion, a little much.

Yep. You'd definately have to do a split workout. I used to lift in the morning and do the Fast and Furious Insanity DVD in the afternoon as it's only 20 minutes of pure hell.

[parkxsx]

I have been doing Insanity for 3 Weeks. In my experience, you WILL get results as long and you push yourself. The harder you push and the more reps (in good form) you can get in, the better your results will become. It is also important to refuel your body after these brutal workouts with the right foods and supplements. Otherwise, you are going to be too tired to push yourself through the next workout.

[kerlaga]

I'm thinking of doing this; would weight training over a 3 day split and then doing insanity 3 days a week (recovery one day) be a bad idea or a good idea? I've spent a year bulking and don't wanna lose anything!

[gticknor]

I've done both weight lifting and Insanity, and I found doing insanity everyday really compromised my energy levels so my lifts didnt increase much. Once I stopped insanity after 45 days or so, my lifts started going up again.

Take what you want out of my experience.

[algreen70]

I'm thinking of doing this; would weight training over a 3 day split and then doing insanity 3 days a week (recovery one day) be a bad idea or a good idea? I've spent a year bulking and don't wanna lose anything!

Kerlaga, I'd highly recommend doing some form of cardio in between weight training sessions. Programs like Insanity are supposed to be done as a complete program to see the proper results. With that being said, I see nothing wrong with you doing the pure cardio or max cardio workouts on non weight lifting days. This will help you build lean mass instead of just bulk and most importantly it will keep you healthy. If you don't decide to do Insanity you should definitely do some form of cardio exercise.

Take it from a guy who has gone from 248 to 190 to 262 and now hovering around 230. Each time it was my goal to either gain or lose, but I never did it properly so I was either skinny and small or huuuge and out of shape.

Al Green

[vipervin]

Been doing Insanity and lifting for about a month now on my cut and results have been solid. It took me awhile to figure out what worked best, but this is my current schedule:

Day 1: Insanity (only 20 minutes -- not the full video)
Day 2: Lift
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Insanity (20 minutes)
Day 5: Lift
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Insanity (20 minutes)

and so on. I don't have evidence to back this up, but it just feels like my lifts are stronger on the days following a quick Insanity session.

[IVAN305]

Been doing Insanity and lifting for about a month now on my cut and results have been solid. It took me awhile to figure out what worked best, but this is my current schedule:

Day 1: Insanity (only 20 minutes -- not the full video)
Day 2: Lift
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: Insanity (20 minutes)
Day 5: Lift
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Insanity (20 minutes)

and so on. I don't have evidence to back this up, but it just feels like my lifts are stronger on the days following a quick Insanity session.

seems like a good plan i might start something like this after im done w insanity

[soceir]

Hi,

I am also combining Insanity with Dumbbell weightraining. What do you think of the below tranining program. Do you think its to much and I should take more rest?

I am in month 2 and this is what i do. After each Insanity workout I take a 3 mins break and go prepare my whey protein shake. Then I go to start on working out with the below plan. Just for your information I use waits were I can finish all reps OK but it gets really tough around the 9 or 10th rep. I try to to avoid failing my muscles. Until know I have been seeing OK results but we are only talking about 2 month doing that. For me the most important question is would it be better if I take one more day rest which would be better for my muscle growth or is below still OK and efficient? Thanks for your help.

Dumbbell exercises
Day 1 (biceps and triceps)
3 sets x 12 reps of Zottman Curl
3 sets x 15 reps Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Day 2 (shoulders and chest)
3 sets x 12 Front Dumbbell Raise
3 sets x 12 Dumbbell Flyes
3 sets x 12 Back Training

Day 3 (biceps and triceps)
3 sets x 12 reps of Zottman Curl
3 sets x 15 reps Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Day 4 (shoulders and chest)
3 sets x 12 Front Dumbbell Raise
3 sets x 12 Dumbbell Flyes
3 sets x 12 Back Training

Day 5 (biceps and triceps)
3 sets x 12 reps of Zottman Curl
3 sets x 15 reps Standing Dumbbell Triceps Extension

Day 6 (shoulders and chest)
3 sets x 12 Front Dumbbell Raise
3 sets x 12 Dumbbell Flyes
3 sets x 12 Back Training

Day 7 – Rest Day

[domfabulous]

I'm doing month 2 of insanity in the AM and lifting heavy in the evening and I honnestly can't keep up. It might be too much and I guess I need to alternate beetween weight training and insanity.

I use them for my cardio on my non lift days. I just cycle through the 2nd month's DVD. To lift heavy and then do an insanity dvd on the same day would be in my opinion, a little much.

[lpereira5]

Oh nice! hows that working out for you. im the same height as you and you're heavier then me. I'm still pretty heavy still and its hard, I been kinda maintaining these days but i been trying to get back into better sleeping habits, i havent been sleeping and i have a lack of iron.. so i havent really had the energy for it. but as soon as i do. I really wanna start again. The last time i attempted insanity... it was really hard but i did lose some weight from walking outside and such. trust me i was soooo out of shape.

I'm doing month 2 of insanity in the AM and lifting heavy in the evening and I honnestly can't keep up. It might be too much and I guess I need to alternate beetween weight training and insanity.

[bjcrispi]

How does this look?

Day 1: Insanity(AM) - Gym (PM)
Day 2: Gym (PM) - 10 min fat burning cardio
Day 3: Insanity(AM) - Gym (PM)
Day 4: Gym (PM) - 10 min fat burning cardio
Day 5: Insanity(AM) - Gym (PM)
Day 6-7: Rest

[Livestock]

Insanity is a heightened form of HIIT. Except the high intensity intervals are long and rest periods are short.

It is not just cardio. Do yourself a favor and simply try the fit test routine and you will get demolished I assure you. In fact, I would do the fit test until you can do it all comfortably, then start the real thing. It's quite intense. Really. It's also based on compounds. Variations of squats and planks.

Your elliptical is a little girl with broken legs compared to Insanity.

Also Insanity + Lifting = over training. I would focus on one and I would pick Insanity as I know it would improve my health much more efficiently than standard cardio or lifting.

Trainign 5 days straight in the fashion you've shown is a recipe for failure.

[riz0o0]

I don't know about your personal fitness level but lifting weight with the first month is do-able but the second month is really challenging so it might be really hard on your body.

[Danielbednarz2]

I don't know about your personal fitness level but lifting weight with the first month is do-able but the second month is really challenging so it might be really hard on your body.

Hmm... OP probably hasn't done anything in the last 3 years, so good advice!

[rehngd]

This is a good idea, but only after you have lost the fat and/or hit the weight loss goals you had first set with Insanity:

Last year I did Insanity twice through over 4.5 months (2 months then couple weeks break then 2 months again), then did I Insanity: Asylum Vol 1. (the 30 day program). I lost 40 pounds (205 to 165 lbs, am 5'11" male, age 36) but gained very little muscle. I got toned, but people commented that I looked too skinny. They were right: I had a very small upper body and my legs were way too skinny. I could run a 10k easily, but could not lift anything very heavy and my body looked funny.

For the last 5 months I have been on a Jason Ferruggia "renegade basic" training program (every other day 3 different sets of heavy compound lifts, with rest days in between) and eating a lot of healthy, non processed foods. I have gained back up to 176 lbs and can really see/feel the muscle gain, but have also noticed slightly puffing out around the mid section.

I just started a few weeks ago a similar weekly routine, mixing in some Insanity cardio programs on rest days and still resting completely infrequently when I feel exhausted. Results have been solid and am starting to feel more cut and keeping the muscle.

However, my advice is this: Like all things in exercise you gotta know where you are. If you are in great shape AND have already lost the weight (fat) you want to, then lifting heavy and recovering overnight works and you can do a heavy Insanity cardio workout the next day with the DVDs. If you are trying to lose weight, the best thing is to do the Insanity workout and diet fully and not mess with it.

[tarheelboy]

I am actually going to start tomorrow combining weight training and insanity. I am on my 3rd round of insanity and feel good enough after my workouts to combine a weight training session. I have gone from 245 to 195 just by doing insanity. My only concern is will I have enough energy after inanity, then pulling a 13 hour shift, and then hitting the gym. I guess we will see.

[Complex89]

Its fine. Just keep in mind that it'll affect your recovery time and may have a negative impact on your work out. So if you do it, don't push yourself too hard.